It has been more than 50 years since anyone has served time in the old Lincoln Heights Jail. The five-story building on San Fernando Road next to the L.A. River has been vacant for much of that time but now the city is launching its most recent effort to find new uses for the historic landmark as efforts are underway to restore the river and build new projects and parks along its banks.

The city is seeking ideas and concepts for the 229,000-square-foot complex... — the Eastsider

Deborah Berke’s appointment last year as the first female dean of the Yale School of Architecture might have brought her into the limelight, but the architect and interior designer had already been getting attention for her work on 21c Museum Hotels, a small chain of boutique properties doubling as art galleries. [...]

In old buildings, you’re taking what you find and complementing that with the architecture and design of today. — nytimes.com

Last month, Seth Pinsky, Executive Vice President at RXR Realty, shared a presentation regarding the development of the long-planned rehabilitation and conversion of Pier 57 aka “SuperPier.” According to him, the 450,000-square-foot development will invest $350 million of private capital to redevelop the structure, and in return create hundreds of jobs, generate millions of dollars of revenue for the Hudson River Park Trust, and create a new destination for New Yorkers and visitors alike. — 6sqft.com

Here's a line I never thought I'd have the pleasure of writing:

Los Angeles Archbishop Jose Gomez is sparring with elderly Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary over the pending sale of the nuns' former convent in Los Feliz to international superstar singer Katy Perry. — latimes.com

Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas talks to SPIEGEL about the new Fondazione Prada museum he designed in Milan, the danger of turning cities into historical Disneylands and his desire to raze an entire neighborhood of Paris. [...]

Koolhaas: Before the 1980s, the decisions were made by cities. Since then power has shifted toward private investors. Nothing good has come of this for Holland. [...] I regret that cities no longer have money to even pursue a vision of their ongoing development. — spiegel.de

The Spofford Juvenile Center was a particularly painful landmark in the Hunts Point community in the Bronx when it was built in 1957... [Majora Carter] envisions the Spofford site combining mixed-income housing, open space and economic development that would appeal to the neighborhood’s existing demographics. Carter is a supporter of affordable housing, but thinks that if it’s built in isolation, you still haven’t solved the problems of employment and a lack of amenities. — nextcity.org

“People are more comfortable...with something that feels authentic." - Toby Moskovits, president of Heritage Equity Partners — NYT

INSIDE: World Festival of Interiors has revealed 60 nominees who will compete for the top-notch World Interior of the Year 2014. From schools, offices, airports, and restaurants, and some renewed interiors of historic buildings, the stakes are high indeed for an award of this caliber. — bustler.net

In the latest Hong Kong Institute of Architects (HKIA) Annual Awards, Aedas was no doubt victorious once again with two preservation/renewal projects: "Art Community": Revitalisation Project in Wan Chai, Hong Kong and Center 66 in Wuxi, China. As the highest architectural awards program in Hong Kong, the HKIA Awards recognizes outstanding architecture designed by HKIA members. — bustler.net

Designed to be an autonomous community, the top of the bridge would serve as a pedestrian walkway with a section cordoned off for cars. Below, self-sustaining residences, shops, and leisure centers would be built into the bridges' support structures. The concept imagines residents living comfortably in the neighborhoods created within the upside-down towers, all while enjoying the view of the Calabrian countryside. — theverge.com